Privacy Policy - Finchley Carpet Cleaners

Effective date: This Privacy Policy applies to all customers and prospective customers of Finchley Carpet Cleaners in the Finchley area and surrounding local service area.

Finchley Carpet Cleaners is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

1. Who we are

For the purposes of data protection law, Finchley Carpet Cleaners is the data controller of the personal information described in this policy. This means we decide how and why your personal data is used when you book, enquire about, or receive our carpet cleaning and related services.

2. Personal data we collect

We collect only the information that is necessary to provide our services, manage customer relationships, and meet our legal obligations. The types of data we may collect include:

Identity details: your name and, where relevant, the name of your business or property manager.
Contact details: address, email address, telephone number, and preferred contact method.
Service information: details about the cleaning service requested, property access requirements, scheduling preferences, and instructions related to the job.
Payment information: limited billing and payment records, such as invoice details and payment status. We do not usually store full card details if payments are processed securely by a third-party provider.
Communication records: enquiries, quotes, complaints, feedback, and correspondence with us.
Technical data: basic information such as website usage data, device type, and cookies if you interact with our digital services, where applicable.
Service history: records of services provided, dates of visits, and related account notes.

We do not intentionally collect special category personal data unless you choose to provide it. Special category data includes information about health, religion, political opinions, or other sensitive matters. If such information is needed for a specific reason, we will only process it where permitted by law and with appropriate safeguards.

3. How we collect your data

We may collect personal data directly from you when you:

make an enquiry or request a quotation;
book a cleaning appointment;
communicate with us by phone, email, or other channels;
make a payment or request an invoice;
submit feedback, a complaint, or a service review.

We may also receive data from third parties where necessary, for example from payment processors, referral partners, or property managers acting on your behalf. In all cases, we only use such information for legitimate business and service purposes.

4. Why we use your personal data and our lawful basis

We must have a lawful basis to process your personal data. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract

We use your data where it is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you. This includes handling your booking, delivering the carpet cleaning service, sending service confirmations, and processing payments.

Legitimate interests

We may process your data where it is necessary for our legitimate interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. Examples include managing our customer relationships, improving our services, preventing fraud, maintaining business records, and responding to enquiries or complaints.

Legal obligation

We may need to process and retain certain information to comply with legal requirements, such as tax, accounting, and record-keeping obligations.

Consent

In limited situations, we may rely on your consent, for example for certain optional marketing activities or non-essential cookies where required. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

5. How we use your data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

to provide quotations and respond to enquiries;
to schedule, perform, and manage carpet cleaning services;
to communicate about bookings, access arrangements, delays, or service updates;
to issue invoices, take payments, and manage accounts;
to maintain internal records and service histories;
to deal with customer support matters, complaints, and claims;
to improve our operations, pricing, service quality, and customer experience;
to meet legal, regulatory, and tax obligations;
where permitted, to send relevant service information or marketing communications.

We will only use your personal data for the purpose for which it was collected, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another compatible purpose and the law allows us to do so.

6. Data sharing and processors

We may share personal data with trusted third parties who act as processors on our behalf. These processors are only allowed to use your data according to our instructions and for the limited services they provide to us. Examples may include:

payment service providers that process payments securely;
booking or scheduling providers that help manage appointments;
IT and hosting providers that store or support our systems;
accounting or invoicing providers that assist with financial records;
communication service providers that help with email or messaging;
professional advisers such as accountants, insurers, or legal advisers where necessary.

We may also disclose personal data if required by law, by a court order, or to protect our rights, property, staff, customers, or the public.

Where processors or service providers are used, we take appropriate steps to ensure they provide sufficient guarantees of data protection, confidentiality, and security. We do not sell your personal data.

7. International transfers

If any of our processors store or access data outside the UK, we will ensure that suitable safeguards are in place to protect your information. These safeguards may include adequacy regulations, standard contractual clauses, or other approved transfer mechanisms under applicable data protection law.

8. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including satisfying legal, accounting, insurance, and reporting requirements. Retention periods can vary depending on the type of data and the purpose for which it is used.

As a general approach:

customer service and booking records are retained for a period necessary to manage the service relationship and handle follow-up issues;
invoice and tax records are retained for the period required by law;
complaints and dispute records may be kept for longer where needed to defend legal claims or resolve disputes;
marketing preferences are kept until you withdraw consent or opt out.

When personal data is no longer required, we will delete it securely or anonymise it so that it can no longer identify you.

9. Your rights

Under data protection law, you have a number of rights regarding your personal data. These rights may apply in full or in part depending on the circumstances and the lawful basis relied upon. Your rights include:

Right of access: you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure: in certain situations, you can ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction: you can ask us to limit the way we use your data in some circumstances.
Right to object: you can object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
Right to data portability: where applicable, you can ask for your data in a reusable format.
Right to withdraw consent: if we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

We may need to verify your identity before responding to your request. We aim to respond within the time limits required by law. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how your data has been handled.

10. Security of your data

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, accidental loss, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures may include access controls, secure storage, staff training, and limiting access to those who need it for business purposes. While no system can be completely secure, we work to maintain a level of protection appropriate to the risk.

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, legal requirements, or data handling practices. Any updated version will apply from the effective date stated at the top of this policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically so that you remain informed about how we protect your personal data.

12. Summary of our approach

Finchley Carpet Cleaners only collects data that is needed to provide services, manage bookings, and meet legal obligations. We process personal data on lawful bases such as contract, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and, where necessary, consent. We retain data only for as long as needed, share it only with trusted processors and legal authorities where required, and respect your rights under data protection law.

Underlined emphasis: Your privacy matters to us, and we are committed to handling your information responsibly.